FG, ASUU To Hold Fresh Meeting On Dec 10

The Minister of Labour and Empowerment, Chris Ngige, said he would hold a meeting with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to find a lasting solution to issues leading to the ongoing strike embarked upon by the union.

In a statement signed by the Director of Press at the ministry, Samuel Olowookere, which also responded to a statement credited to Femi Falana (SAN), where he described the no-work-no-pay policy of the government as illegal, Ngige said every policy of the government was backed by the provision of the International Labour Organization, stressing that while ILO backed strike, it also recognized provision to withhold wages.

The statement said, “The minister had earlier in the exercise of his powers sent back the conciliation to the Federal Ministry of Education as he noticed during the first meeting that both parties have not exhausted the internal conciliation mechanism. Knowing that ASUU and her members are on essential services as contained in the Trade Dispute Act, the minister has therefore directed that the matter is re-apprehended back into his ministry to avoid unnecessary meddlesomeness by external interlopers as well as to ensure speedy resolution of all issues to enable ASUU to call off the strike.